University Joins the Carpentries to Improve Professional Development Opportunities

Photo by Marie Riley

U of A attendees at 2019 Python workshop.

The University of Arkansas is now an institutional member of The Carpentries, a non-profit organization that teaches foundational coding and data science skills for scientists, engineers and other researchers. The Carpentries provides instructor training to member institutions, allowing trained instructors to teach certified, low-cost workshops to their organizations.

Beginning in the summer of 2019, the university will offer Carpentries Python classes on campus and through Global Campus. Carpentries workshops are taught by volunteer instructors who focus on creating a motivating and engaging environment for learners.

"Becoming a member of The Carpentries directly supports several of the U of A's guiding priorities such as enhancing our research and discovery mission and building a collaborative and innovative campus," Paige Francis, associate CIO, said.

The university has already offered two Python workshops for 85 employees with the classes taught by paid instructors. Currently, 52 individuals are on the waiting list for the next class.

 "The U of A can train six instructors a year. The training course runs over two full days and covers the basics of educational psychology and instructional design," said Marie Riley, director of IT professional development, training and outreach.

Lessons are open source, hosted on GitHub and collaboratively developed by the Carpentries volunteer community. Core skills taught by The Carpentries include:

• Unix shell
• Structured programming in Python or R
• Version control using Git

Membership is jointly funded by IT Services, Walton College of Business and the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center. To learn more about instructor training, visit the Carpentries page on instructor training.

Contact Marie Riley for additional information about The Carpentries workshops at mriley@uark.edu.